UW-Oshkosh chancellor's former house for sale amid foundation bankruptcy

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Foundation bought Chancellor Richard Wells' home for roughly $120,000 more than it arguably was worth before he retired — the same foundation he's accused of illegally using to help cement his legacy.
Wochit

OSHKOSH - The former chancellor's residence, one of the debts held by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Foundation as it continues under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, hit the market this week.

The property is listed for $399,900, said First Weber Group's Megan Lang, about $50,000 less than what the foundation bought it for in 2013. The home went up for sale earlier this week and is available for showings.

"The university wanted nothing to do with it, I mean, what are we going to do with it?" said Paul Swanson, the foundation's attorney. "It's unfortunate, quite frankly, because that is just the best place for a chancellor. It's a great place for entertaining and it's historically significant, but it is what it is."

Swanson said the plan is to pay off the remaining mortgage and put any remaining money back into the foundation.

Richard Wells(Photo: Courtesy UW-Oshkosh)

The university foundation owed $15.8 million when it declared bankruptcy in August, eight months after the UW System filed a lawsuit against former Chancellor Richard Wells and Vice Chancellor Tom Sonnleitner. The lawsuit says the administrators illegally transferred nearly $11 million in university funds to the foundation for several building projects.

State law requires money to flow only from foundations to the university — not the other way around.

The university foundation bought the property at 1423 Congress Ave. from Wells in January 2013 for $450,000 — nearly $120,000 more than its fair market value at the time, a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin investigation found. Wells bought the home from the Alberta Kimball estate in March 2001 for $280,000, according to the city assessor's records.

"This was not done with any intent to take advantage of anybody; it was done with the intent to preserve a really nice asset as the chancellor's residence," Swanson said.

The house has been unoccupied since current Chancellor Andrew Leavitt moved into a private residence late last year, with the university turning the house back over to the foundation Dec. 15, said Mandy Potts, the university's communications director.

Leavitt's salary includes a housing allowance of $2,072 a month, a university spokeswoman said in early January.

"It is common for a chancellor to be provided housing or a stipend for housing," then-Assistant Vice Chancellor Jamie Ceman said. "This is done as a benefit and convenience for a university system — it is for hosting official functions and events consistent with the chancellor performing his/her duties."

The only campuses left with chancellor's residences in the UW System are in Green Bay, Madison, Milwaukee, Kenosha (UW-Parkside) and Platteville.